Careful dearie. A queen striding among the peasants might not like what she hears. In Fairy Tale Land, Queen Regina is horrified at the thought of her subjects, gained through the death of their beloved King Leopold, hating her. They believe she is evil. And what’s worse, they have banded together to protect the sniveling maiden, Snow White, their princess. What they don’t know is the harm she’s done—at least towards Regina. Under the cloak of darkness, Regina rounds up the village to try and track down Snow White who has eluded the cowardly huntsman and now hides in the woods like a bandit. But the villagers won’t hand her over. Kill them all, she declares. If they won’t turn her in then they can die for treason of the royal throne. Later, licking her wounds from her recent brush with the peasants, Regina is in the company of the one and only Rumplestiltskin. He, of course, offers her advice—for a price: all trade needs to be cut off from King George. Why? It doesn’t concern her. Does she, or does she not, want his help? Regina agrees to his price. In exchange, Rumplestiltskin agrees to cloak Regina in the body of a peasant girl. In this new form, Regina can come and go as she pleases and hear all the awful words her subjects are saying about her. However, she will be without magic. The only way back is to call out Rumplestiltskin’s name. Regina sets out. Do her subjects really think she’s evil? It can’t be so.

But in the square, peasants are rallied around an effigy of the queen. On her chest is a paper heart. Dare anyone throw a dart at the Queen’s heart? Anyone? One young man steps to the plate, aims his dart, and lands a bulls-eye. Regina, horrified, tries to stop the madness. This is treason. How dare they think so ill of their Queen? Because she’s evil! Regina, in disguise, is arrested for her outbursts. Before she can be taken, Regina yells out the name Rumplestiltskin. But the imp does not appear. Instead, the very woman Regina vows to kill steps to Regina’s aid, knocking down guards and dragging Regina to safety. In the woods, Snow White cares for Regina, surprising the queen with her resourcefulness. Subsequently, Snow White confides in Regina, who is in disguise, about a woman who came to Snow’s rescue many years ago. Metaphorically, that woman is gone, but Snow hopes not forever. Regina recovers enough to continue on their journey. Along the way, Snow also confesses that she thinks that Regina is not as evil as everyone thinks…that there is hope for her to turn good again. The good is in there somewhere because she’s seen it. Snow’s story is cut short when the two women come across the dead villagers from the night before. Snow White, enraged, takes back her last kind words. No. If this is what is in Queen Regina’s heart then, truly, there is no good in the Evil Queen!

But…but what about that story? Regina saved her once, was that not good? Those very words alert Snow White that the woman in her company is none other than the queen herself. She doesn’t know how, but she is, for Snow White had not divulged her long-ago rescuer’s name. Regina comes clean, but when it becomes clear that Snow White is out for her blood, Regina flees. Back in her castle, Regina accepts that she is who the people think she is. The good queen is dead. Long live the Evil Queen!

Post curse in Storybrooke where magic is present, Greg and Tamara are plotting their evil revenge. They have Hook, who believes he has killed Rumplestiltskin. However, be that not the case, Greg and Tamara use that as leverage to gain Hook’s alliance. All he needs to do is find out where Greg’s father is—where Regina is keeping him. Then, they can let him loose to re-kill Rumplestiltskin. Meanwhile, the royal family prepares to leave Storybrooke behind. They have the magic beans that can transport them to their world. However, Mary Margaret is in a bind. Should they really leave Regina behind? After all, she is Henry’s mother…of a kind. Prince Charming won’t allow such talk. The only other option, should they take her along, is lock her up in Rumplestiltskin’s cell indefinitely. Regina, using her shape shifting skills, overhears the conversation. A jail cell? Oh, no they won’t! Two can play that game. She heads to the bean field and destroys the magic beans, saving one for herself. In the park, Regina finds Henry filling a bird feeder. She gets his attention and tries to earn him back to her side, pointing out all the flaws the Charmings have. When that doesn’t convince him, Regina proceeds to tell him about a fail-safe to the curse. It’s like a redo button. The only catch is that once it’s triggered, Storybrooke will disappear and all of its citizens will be destroyed—killed, if you will. Henry is appalled. Just when she’d been trying to be good, just when he’d about given her a second change she does something like this. She really is the Evil Queen! Angered by his treachery—by taking Mary Margaret’s, Emma’s, and David’s sides again—Regina tells Henry that it doesn’t matter what he thinks about this. She’s going to do it and he won’t remember any of this conversation. Waving a hand over his face, she erases Henry’s memory of their talk. Henry smiles forgetfully at her and proceeds to show off his bird feeder. Regina smiles at the joy in Henry’s voice as he shares his creation with her.

Meanwhile, Emma and Henry are teamed up again in Operation Praying Mantis to find evidence against Tamara, the alleged “she” in August’s warning. Emma believes that Tamara is not who she says she is and Neal should be warned. Neal doesn’t believe Emma, but allows her to search their room. When they don’t find anything, Emma and Henry leave…prepared to search high and low for their cause! Later, in Regina’s office, Hook lets himself in. Quickly explaining his recent absents and goings-on, he earns Regina’s confidence with a few silver-tongued words, and becomes Regina’s cohort in extracting a valuable gem—the fail-safe to the curse. It’s hidden in a safe place beneath the library. In the depths of the library, Regina tells Hook her plan to retrieve the item. All Hook must do is be a distraction. Thusly, she shoves him over the edge and into the dark pit where Maleficent—who has morphed into a zombie-ish creature—lives. While Maleficent chases Hook around, Regina calming walks over to Snow White’s dusty glass coffin, breaks a section of the glass and pulls out a bag with the gem. Regina rides the elevator to library’s main floor, leaving Hook for dead, only to find him leaning smugly against the circulation desk, fully intact. How? How did he survive? Well, you see, before Regina and Hook descended into the depths, Hook cleverly tricked Regina to putting on a wristband—the same one used when climbing the beanstalk. That wristband had been manipulated by Greg and Tamara to block any magic from exited Regina’s body. They saved him and now, they can torture her until she confesses to Greg’s father’s location. Can Regina survive what they have in store for her and hold on to a 28 year secret?!

Burning Questions: 1) Will Greg and Tamara discover the fail-safe to the curse and accidently set off? 2) Will Emma find enough evidence to pin Tamara to the wall? Will Neal stand behind Emma on this? 3) What is going to happen to Storybrooke?! 4) What will happen to Regina? Where is Greg’s father? Has he really disappeared or really locked up somewhere and at Regina’s mercy? 5) Is anyone else as anxious about the Season 2 finale! What’s going to happen? Will everyone live? What will be destroyed? ~ Taryn